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Livonia, Michigan
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History
First settled by pioneers from New England and New York, an act by the legislature of the Territory of Michigan established the borders of Livonia Township on March 17, 1835. The city was named after the Livonia region in present day Latvia and Estonia. Livonia was incorporated into a city on May 23, 1950 by vote of the citizens of the township. A significant motivation was to gain tax revenues from the DRC (Detroit Race Course), which was Michigan's only thoroughbred horse racetrack that closed in 1998.
Livonia has been visited by six U.S. presidents, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford,Ronald Reagan Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.
PoliticsLivonia is located in Michigan's 11th Congressional District, and is represented in Congress by Thaddeus McCotter (Republican), who was first elected to Congress in 2002. Livonia's mayor is Jack Kirksey. On November 6, 2007, Livonia's mayoral election took place between Jack Kirksey and Maureen Miller Brosnan, with Kirksey the winner.
Livonia is Michigan's 6th State Senate District, and is represented by Glenn S. Anderson (Democrat), who was elected to the State Legislature in 2006.
Livonia is Michigan's 19th State House District, and is represented by incumbent John R. Pastor (Republican), who is term-limited as of 2008. John Walsh, Executive Director of Development and Governmental Relations at Schoolcraft College, is expected to run as Representative Pastor's successor.
InfrastructureIn addition to its schools, colleges, churches, parks, recreation center, libraries, and St. Marys Mercy Hospital, Livonia also has commercial and industrial sectors, restaurants, and shopping.
Livonia has an upscale mall with about 70 stores operating in its city Limits: Laurel Park Place, located at 6 Mile Road and Newburgh Road. The city also has a number of shopping centers, including a Wal-Mart supercenter, two Target stores, one Meijer store, and many other smaller stores.
Wonderland Mall was a former mall that opened as an outdoor shopping mall on the site of an airport in Livonia in 1959. It was eventually turned into an indoor shopping mall which proved popular until the 1990s, when crime began to overrun it. At one time it was the third regional shopping center in the state of Michigan, and was the first of three malls to open in the city of Livonia. Wonderland Mall was shuttered in 2003, except for three stores. The mall was demolished in 2006 and the property was redeveloped as Wonderland Village, which features a Wal-Mart Supercenter and a Target, store. In addition, the property has three islands of retail buildings along Plymouth Road and Middlebelt Road. Another former shopping mall, Livonia Mall, opened in 1964 and was closed in May 2008 with its new owner planning to raze and redevelop the property.
Livonia is home to the Livonia Hockey Association, the largest amateur hockey association in Michigan.
Education
Livonia is currently home to Madonna University and Schoolcraft College. There is also a Continuing Education Center of Eastern Michigan University and will soon be home to a branch of Davenport University, which is currently under construction.
The Livonia Public Schools District currently consists of 2 Early Childhood Centers, 13 Elementary Schools, 4 Upper Elementary Schools, 3 Middle Schools, 4 High Schools, & 1 Career Center. In the 2005-2006 school year, due to declining student enrollment & budget cuts, the district introduced the Legacy Initative, which closed 7 Elementary schools and consolidated the remaining into K-4, 5-6, 7-8, and 9-12 branches.
There are currently five high schools in Livonia, four of which are public: Franklin, Churchill, and Stevenson High Schools in the Livonia district, Clarenceville High School in the Clarenceville Public School District, and one private: Ladywood High School, a Catholic all-girls school run by the Felician Sisters.
Each Livonia Public Schools high school offers a different program to make up for the fact that Livonia Public Schools no longer offers School of Choice, due to over-crowding. Stevenson High School is the home of the school of Global Education, an alternative education model which combines students' English and Social Studies classes with a focus on the student's role in the world. Churchill houses the MSC program, (Math, Science, and Computers) and CAPA (Creative and Performing Arts). Franklin is currently in the process of adopting an International Baccalaureate program.
Frost Middle School houses the MACAT program (Middle Alternative Classrooms for the Academically Talented). The public school Webster Elementary School (a K-6 school) is home to the ACAT program (Alternative Classes for the Academically Talented), as well as many afterschool programs.
There are a number of parochial grade schools attached to Catholic and Lutheran churches around Livonia, including:
GeographyAccording to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 35.8 square miles (92.8 kmē), of which, 35.8 square miles (92.5 kmē) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 kmē) of it (0.33%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 100,545 people, 38,089 households, and 28,071 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,815.0 per square mile (1,086.8/kmē). There were 38,658 housing units at an average density of 1,082.3/sq mi (417.9/kmē). The racial makeup of the city was 95.45% White, 0.95% African American, 0.22% Native American, 1.94% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.32% from other races, and 1.11% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.72% of the population. 16.3% were of Polish, 15.9% German, 11.2% Irish, 8.6% Italian and 8.5% English ancestry according to Census 2000.
By 2006 there were 96,736 people in Livonia. This represented a 3.8% decline in the city's population since 2000.
In 2000 there were 38,089 households out of which 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.8% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.3% were non-families. 22.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.07.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.8% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males.
According to a 2006 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $71,593, and the median income for a family was $85,361. Males had a median income of $54,137 versus $35,273 for females. The per capita income for the city was $27,923. About 2.0% of families and 3.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.0% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.
Major employers
Notable people
Arts- John Seymore: Background Artist, Spongebob Squarepants, Churchill High School Class of 1983
- : Foley Mixer, Supervising Sound Editor, Churchill High School Class of 1994
Broadcasting- Sean Baligian: Sports radio host, Detroit News Fantasy Sports Expert Stevenson High School
- Dennis Fithian: Detroit radio personality|Franklin High School Class of 1988]])
- Scott Geiger: Syndicated radio personality. Stevenson High School Class of 1989). 1077 kndd and 965 krbz
- Rob Pascoe: Sports Radio 1130 WDFN. Host of "On The Track." Detroit's only NASCAR Nextel Cup radio show.
- Art Regner: WDFN Radio in Detroit, Michigan (Franklin High School)
- Shaffee: WKLS in Atlanta, Stevenson High School graduate.
- Jim Harper: Detroit radio personality, attended Churchill High School (Livonia, Michigan)
- Mike Bradley: Detroit radio personality, Franklin High School Class of (1969)
- Mike Brandt: Radio personality "TicTak" at Wild 100.7 near Memphis, TN. (Livonia Stevenson Class of 1994).
- P.J. Gradowski: Athletic Media Relations Contact at University of Detroit Mercy
- Dan Martin: News Director, WAAM, Clarenceville High School
- Thayrone X: DJ & Talk Show Host, WAAM, Franklin High School
- Jay Hudson: Detroit radio personality 89X, Churchill High School
Acting
Dance- Amanda Kisic: Dancer in the Radio City Rockettes
Sports
Business
Politics- Thaddeus McCotter: US Congressman for Michigan's 11th district
- John R. Pastor: State Representative for the majority of Livonia's population, excepting the South-Eastern portion, which is represented by House Speaker Andy Dillon (Redford)
Music- Warren Defever: Founding member of the experimental band His Name Is Alive
- Ted Nugent: Guitar frontman for band of same name, (Clarenceville High School)
- Ray Saguaro: Drummer for The Cacti (Clarenceville High School)
Festivals- St. Andrew's Society of Detroit Highland Games at the Greenmead Historic Village. Usually the first Saturday each August.
- Livonia Spree Is located in Ford Field at the corner of Farmington Road and Lyndon in the last week each June. Includes Spree Fireworks. The Spree is put on with the help of the legendary Pugh Shows.
- Music under the Stars. Held at various locations in Livonia throughout the summer.
Photo gallery
Further reading
External links
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